Four years ago

Little H was born! And little H is not so little anymore. He turned the big 4 last Sunday, although in his mind, he's much older than 4. In fact, he insisted that he was going to get a motorized scooter for his birthday. Thankfully, motorized scooters say "for age 8 and older" very clearly on them and thankfully, H knows his numbers and could be brought back to reality. 

We ate his favorite spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and had a great birthday party with cousins. 

  

Some fun things about H: he has the best, most mischievous smile and crinkles up the corners of his eyes.  He idolizes his older brother and wants to copy him in all things.  He is determined and focused on what he wants.  He has taken to sleeping on top of his covers now that I've started making him make his bed because then he doesn't have to make it. He's tough and hardly ever complains. He has the coolest, longest eyelashes. Oh how we love our H!  

H at Four (in his words):

Favorite color: red

Favorite restaurant: McDonalds

Favorite TV show: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

Favorite move: Megamind

Favorite sport: soccer

Favorite food: macaroni and cheese

Favorite drink: juice

What he's good at: riding scooters

Where he wants to go on vacation:  to the canyon with the cave

What he would buy with $1000: Bob the Builder toys

All that I have is enough

I haven't posted much lately. Our house has been crazy. And not just the inhabitants of the house (because isn't that a given?!), but the physical circumstances of the house as we've painted the entire house, ripped up carpet and tile and backsplash and countertops, painted banisters and fireplace and--this week--cabinets. I am tired of living with a coat of dust and dirt over everything, with jobs half-finished, and with furniture still wrapped in plastic.

During this process, we've had a lot of frustrations and disappointments. We couldn't get the countertops we wanted until the end of August, so we went with another choice; we couldn't get the tile we wanted, so we went with another choice because it had to be in before the new wood floors arrived; then, our new wood floors didn't arrive (backordered until August 29, but they already ripped out the tile and carpet), so we had to find another wood that, you guessed it, we didn't like quite as much, and which set us back time-wise. It's been frustrating to know what I want and not quite get exactly what I want, especially when there's a big price tag attached.

At the same time, moving has taken us away from friends. Closer to family, yes, which we're finding so fun, but we've had to turn to each other for conversation, company, play, and fun.

Both of these experiences combined have reminded me that, really, "All that I have is enough." No, I didn't get the exact wood I wanted. And, yes, I miss my friends in Arizona. But when it comes right down to it, what I have here is enough.  

Fourth of July Fun

We traveled north a short hour and a half (compared to the previous 12 hour drive) for the 4th to spend a couple of days and nights with grandparents and cousins. None of the kids got much sleep, there were a few "wrestling" injuries, but mostly we just had a good time, eating Dad's sourdough pancakes, decorating bikes for the family bike parade to the park, barbecuing, and watching fireworks.